Trouble Brewing in the Tropics, AGAIN!
The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season has already been a bad one and could get much worse.
We are currently focused on a pair of hurricanes in Jose and Maria and both could have some impact on the US.
The latest update on Jose shows the storm maintaining category 1 status with sustained winds of 90 mph as it moves to the north.
The latest National Hurricane Center forecast keeps Jose on a northward course before turning it towards the east as it gradually weakens into a tropical storm.
While most of the data says it stays off the US Coast, the cone of uncertainty scrapes parts of New England and a few forecast models try to bring onshore late in the week.
Even if it comes close, it should be a fairly weak storm.
Now onto a potentially bigger problem. Hurricane Maria is quickly gaining strength as it approaches the Caribbean.
It is now a category one hurricane with sustained winds of 85 mph and a central pressure that is dropping. The storm is moving towards the west-northwest and, like Irma, will impact some of the Leeward Islands over the next 24 hours and could become a very strong hurricane.
It is currently forecasted to maintain a west-northwest track while strengthening into a Cat-4 possibly impacting, again like Irma, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rick and the Dominican Republic before approaching the Bahamas.
From there it could turn towards the US Southeast in about a week. Let's hope not.
We'll be watching it closely.
WDRB Meteorologist Jeremy Kappell
Email me at [email protected]
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